Customer Reviews

The Hero's Choice: Living From the Inside Out

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This is a very powerful and compelling story - it will touch your heart and will teach you a better way of living. You will be moved by this story - it will make you smile and it will also move you to tears.

The writing style and story line reminds me of Og Mandino's books. If you love any of his books you will surely love this one.

While the story is emotionally moving it is also provides many teaching moments.

The plot revolves around Hal, a man totally committed to building his business and unable to listen to or communicate effectively with others. His relationships are all superficial. In a dark moment of his life, quite by accident he has a chance encounter with a man who gently guides Hal to a better way of living.

Hal was full of anger, ran away from confrontations or problems, and was always blaming others when things did not go smoothly in his life. He deeply wanted love and understanding but his actions pushed people away. He could not and would not face his contribution to the reality he was creating.

The story is very captivating. I found it difficult to put the book down and was constantly looking forward to getting back to the story. I was hooked on finding out how it ended. Just like Og Mandino's books,there are a couple of surprises in the ending.

The story is completely fictional. I rarely read fiction but this was a real pleasure. There are numerous parts that I underlined and highlighted. The story is great but in my mind the lessons are even more important. The story makes the lessons easy to see. Everyone will get something from this book.

I will go back many times and review the lessons from this book. It is really a great blueprint for learning to live your life from the inside out - to live life at the highest level.

There are many valuable tools in the book - Stop -Look - Listen - Choose is just one. When faced with a "key moment" we need to Stop - be aware of what is happening, Look - notice your feelings without acting on them, Listen to your inner voice and Choose - what choices can you make that will give you what you really want. As a general rule we react emotionally based on our belief system. We often lash out, choose the victim role or blame others. This book will definitely open your eyes to some of your destructive behavior. If you internalize the lessons you will look at life from a different perspective.

Get a copy of this book and read it. Then go back and study it. Write down the lessons and the tools and start to implement them in your life. Then tell all your friends to do the same thing.

I know this book will change lots of lives. Read it and implement the lessons and you will be as changed as Hal.

This captivating story describes how Hal Stratton, a successful entrepreneur and family man, suddenly finds his life falling apart for no apparent reason ...at least to him. His personal struggles are all too familiar for most of us. I found myself deeply absorbed in the book. It seemed only natural as I read the pages that I contrasted the key relationships in my own life to those experienced through the eyes and practices of Hal Stratton. This book gives brilliant perspective and hope that each of us, if we take a serious look inwardly, can learn the keys to greatly improve and maintain the essential associations of our lives. The author will have you really thinking! It's a fantastic book with many helpful and motivational insights learned in a beautiful story.

This one is a must-read book for anyone who has felt that his or her life could be lived more effectively, more honestly, more joyfully. I loved this book. It made me laugh and made me cry. It was powerful and uplifting. Who thought self-improvement could be so enjoyable? I lost sleep because I could not put it down. The story of Hal Stratton teaches so effectively because it lets you experience and understand solid principles throught Hal's life, family, challenges and choices. Read it. You will be glad you did. It is an uplifting, moving force for good.

The greatest strength of this book is that it is realistic and compelling. The events experienced by the characters happen to a lot of people during their lifetime and many don't handle them well. While reading the book I continually found myself relating to similar experiences both as a child and as an adult. Having these powerful concepts in a story makes them easy to remember. I find myself getting better results with clients and with family because of the conscious choices I'm making. This is a great book!

I thoroughly enjoyed reading this book. The characters are well developed and believable. What the main characters go through is so close to what many people are experiencing in real life right now, I had to keep reminding myself this is just a novel, not reality. I began the book during my daily public transportation commute but soon found 20-minute chunks of reading time were not sufficient. I finished the book on my third night because I could no longer stand to put it down. I loved the resolution and the plot. I'm ready for a sequel!

Hal Stratton's journey of becoming newly aware of the impact of his thinking and choices on himself and others was an incredibly engaging and enlightening story. The author did a wonderful job of weaving life-changing principles and techniques into a story that held my interest and created introspection that had more of an affect on me than a typical "self-help" book. As Hal gradually learned that he was responsible for his thoughts and reactions to his experiences, I found myself "walking in his shoes" by assessing the impact of my thoughts and choices and taking more responsibility for my happiness.

Background: While this is Roger's first published fiction work, he has written numerous corporate training materials and personal development courses. Dr. Allen was a student of Stephen Covey at BYU, is well grounded in the principles he outlines in this book, and can certainly be considered an expert on life strategies and personal development. If you get the chance to attend one of his workshops, take it.

Plot: The Hero's Choice is a fictional story about a man experiencing a dramatic loss in his life and learning how to thrive in the change. Hal, the main character, is living the American Dream and working hard to achieve his goals - a successful businessman by society's standards. When life changes dramatically, Hal finds failure and chooses the role of victim (it's not fair!). Like many of us, he spends a lot of time there, unwilling to see his contribution in the messiness of his life. It takes Hal a while to come around to owning the results, but when he does, he gets a chance to experience life in a new and rewarding way.

I found it easy to relate to the characters. Like most good stories, The Hero's Choice has drama, conflict, and tension, as well as a few good twists to keep you in suspense. Honesty and accountability. Survival, security, success, and serenity. There's also forgiveness, growth and possibility. Through it all, Roger weaves into the story great life lessons. Lessons anyone can benefit from in every stage of life. At times the story is a little corny, but in the same way life can be.

I think the relevant point of the story is that we all have choices in our lives. We get to choose how we will respond to the challenges. Will I live life as a victim of circumstances or will I choose to be a champion, or as Roger frames it, will I make "The Hero's Choice"?

Other reviewers were unable to put the book down, digesting the entire book in one sitting. I found myself reading one or two chapters and then contemplating for some time about how I reacted in the past when experiencing similar challenges. Sometimes well, and other times not so well. It's so easy to put on the victim hat, and not so easy to take it off. It's certainly a book worth reading more than once; perhaps even once a year, just to make sure I don't backslide.

You will like this book if you see parables as a good read. Especially if you can put the book down often to examine how you have responded in situations similar. Compare and contrast. Learn and practice. If that's possible, your future is bright, my friend.

I like self-help books and read them fairly often but I've never read one where I became so involved because of the story and found it as helpful as "The Hero's Choice: Living From the Inside Out". This is a great idea, weaving a self-help book into an engaging story about a character that we can easily relate to. This book got me right from the start with Hal being fired from active management of the company that he founded and built from the ground up. Hal goes through all the raw emotions that many of us would go through under the same circumstances. We see into his thoughts and his interactions with his family in the aftermath.

The story goes on with him meeting a mentor in kind of an unexpected way and learning coping mechanisms from him that help him deal with his reactions to being fired. It also gives him and us tools to understand some of the reasons that resulted in the other board members in the company turning on him after a new partner was brought in. Sometimes Hal seems a little over the top in the way he reacts, but his character is still perfectly believable. A lot the story is very emotional and it draws you in, making you feel close to him and his family.

I think everyone reading this book will gain something in acquiring the tools to deal with stressful situations in their own lives. The lessons are clear and by presenting them in story form, Roger K. Allen does a great job of making them stick with you long after you close the cover at the end of this book. I hope to see more of this type of book by this author. This is a great way to learn.

Hal Stratton is devastated when the Board of Directors of the company he founded, built, and managed removed him from active management. In an emotional state of hurt, bitterness and confusion Hal blindly drives to an isolated area in the Colorado Mountains to reflect on his sense of personal ruin. Unexpectedly Hal meets and is mentored by Donald, an older man who lives alone in a nearby mountain cabin.

Anger and the desire for revenge alienate Hal from his peers and business associates and send him into a tailspin of blame shifting, self pity, and nearly irreparable damage to his marriage and family relationships. Dwelling on childhood hurt and disappointments poison his mind causing him to avoid contact with and offers of help from his concerned parents.

Donald shares from his personal experiences the basic concept of personalizing "The Hero's Choice." Dr. Roger K. Allen has chosen to use the platform of fiction to bring Hal and the reader to a place of seeing a new way of thinking. Hal opens his mind and heart to new ways of thinking. These lessons are carefully incorporated in the story for the reader to make application of the state of affairs and personal trauma they may be facing. Although circumstances for Hal have not changed his life is empowered. The principle of making the hero's choice is presented through unexpected plot twists, narrative, and dialog.

Allen's writing is pragmatic seasoned with idealism. His writing is compelling and penetrating. Allen helps the reader turn their hurt and personal grief into opportunities for change, self actualization and personal transformation. Each chapter builds on the previous one as Allen clearly and accurately explains strategic life principles which help the reader learn to face the challenge of adversity while achieving business success. His character development is superb. I found myself experiencing emotions of intense dislike, compassion, mistrust, and ultimate empathy with each major player in the story.

The novel contains a perfect balance of instruction and creative story telling. Allen has established a new level of life coaching in "The Hero's Choice."

Easy delightful reading this is one of those books you can't put down. It takes you into the life of an ordinary successful man, Hal, who gets fired from a company he founded when a new partner joins the team. He learns from a stranger how to turn his bitterness and his blame everyone else attitude into a new way of looking at life from the inside out.

He learns to make four commitments of honesty, accountability, responsibility and patience. He learns about key words in which it is the choices we make, not the event, that determines the results we get. The stranger explains four attitudes we live from and how serenity is created and maintained through our choices.

This book is packed with ordinary examples of extraordinary lessons in life.
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